


Even If It Takes This Long

by DamsInDistress



Category: Formula 1 RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-06
Updated: 2018-08-21
Packaged: 2018-09-28 17:09:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 3,410
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10140908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DamsInDistress/pseuds/DamsInDistress
Summary: 'Shit,'Dan thinks as he sees Jean-Eric for the first time in what felt like years, clean-shaven and baby-faced.'He definitely doesn't look like he's 30'Or that 'Single by 30' fic nobody asked for.Chapter 4 is an Author's Note





	1. Chapter 1

_2008_

Dan looks around at the other drivers in their garages. _'This is it.'_ He thinks as he takes in the sight in front of him. People getting ready for the race and Dan could almost feel his own nerves. 

He's finally made it somewhere. No longer a boy without any sponsors to his name. He's finally found people who are willing to take a shot on him. He remembers the look his parents gave him when they found out. It was worth it. Them having to watch their son leave home to follow his dreams. For him to live on the other side of the world while they're back in Australia working hard so he could pursue racing. It was all worth it. 

Dan gets himself ready as he's ready to pull out of the garage and line up on the starting grid. He qualified on a decent spot and it was anybody's game. He takes a deep breath as he watches the lights go out before he gives it his all. Almost an hour later, Dan finds himself standing on top of the spot reserved for second as he smiles at the people around them. He looks to his left at the other boy who won the race. He had a sense of calm that both unnerved and yet Dan almost envied as he looks straight on as the anthem plays. 

It was later out of prying eyes that Dan finally met the other boy. He was nothing like the guy up there on the podium. Now that they were alone, Dan could clearly see that it was all a facade for everyone to look at and Dan almost felt like a fool for believing it for a second. The boy smiles as he offers his hand to Dan. "I'm Jean-Eric. You did good out there. Almost caught me for a second." The boy, Jean-Eric says. "Daniel but you could call me Dan. And hopefully next time It'd be the other way around for my sake." Dan says with a laugh. "Maybe. See you next time, Daniel." Jean-Eric says with a wave as he picks up his trophy and heads back to his garage. 

That night, as Dan wipes his trophy clean, he finds himself thinking about Jean-Eric. How good he is as a driver and maybe outside racing too. As he puts down his trophy next to the other ones, Dan decides on one thing. He's going to try his best and become friends with Jean-Eric.


	2. Chapter 2

_2009_

Dan almost couldn't believe that only a year has passed when he met Jean-Eric. Well, it's Jev now because he kept saying his name's a mouthful for him. Now they're still racing each other but sharing the same garage and practically living with each other.

Dan has become such a fixture at the little apartment that the Vergne's are renting in England that Dan can't be seen without Jev and vice-versa. He was laying down on the pull out bed of Jev's bed as the Frenchman continued to sleep. They stayed up late last night after the two of them ended up on the podium and went out with some of the other boys. 

The two of them were a running joke with all the other drivers, with how they're all but glued to the hip with being teammates and living together. Dan just laughs it all off has he fills up his and Jev's cup with whatever liquor their friends have around. Dan misses the blush staining Jean-Eric's cheeks as he hops off to join the others 

Dan hears a groan come from the bed above him. "Jev? You awake yet?" Dan asks. " _Putain_ , what do you think?" Was Jev's reply. Dan chuckles before he sits up and chuckles when he sees how ruffled up his friend still is. "Scoot over, yeah?" Dan says before he moves to lay down next to his friend on the bed. 

"I'm never drinking again." Jev says as he rubs at his eyes. "You say that now." Dan teases which earns him a smack on the shoulder from the Frenchman. "How are you this cheery when you drank more than me?" Jev asks as he scoots closer next to the Dan. Dan just shrugs as he smiles at his friend. "Dunno mate, maybe I'm just a natural." Dan says as he laughs and Jev groans. 

The two of them stay like that for another thirty minutes. Dan in one of his worn-out hoodie and boxers while Jev was just wearing his boxer shorts. They enjoy the warmth that the other radiates as if to soothe their still tired bodies from yesterday's racing and partying. "Wanna go for a jog?" Dan asks as he rolls to face Jev. Jev wrinkles his nose before he nods yes. Dan was up in an instant as he rummages through Jev's drawers and tosses him a shirt and some jogging pants. "That's mine." Jev says when he sees what Dan's put on. "It's not like we haven't worn each other's clothes before." Dan reasons with a cheeky grin. "No wonder they tease us that we're married." Jev mutters as he hunts for his trainers, Dan following behind laughing along.


	3. Chapter 3

_2009_

It was a shit race. Dan crashing out while Jev's car basically gave up on him. So the two of them hole up in the motorhome for as long they can.

The two of them were just sitting on their own area in their motorhome, Dan was still half-dressed in his race suit while Jev was still clutching his helmet. Jev hears Dan take a deep sigh before he speaks up. "You wanna grab a pizza and some beer before we go home?" Dan says as he offers a small sad smile to his friend. Jev nods yes as he lets go of his helmet. "Can we get ice cream too?" Jev adds as he watches Dan's grin return to his face. "Anything you want, mate." 

They end up laying down on what little backyard they have as Jev's parents were back in France during the weekend and it was just the two of them having the house to themselves. They've already polished off one box of pizza between them as they alternate between their dinner and dessert as they shovel spoonfuls of ice cream into their mouths. Their diets can wait as they blow off some steam and enjoy themselves for a bit. Dan ends up with ice cream all over his face as Jev rolls his eyes and throws some napkins on his face. "Slob." He says as Dan cleans himself up. "All part of my charm." Dan jokes as Jev snorts. "No wonder no one wants to kiss you with a face like that." Jev teases as Dan smirks at him. "Please Jev, even you'd want a piece off this." Dan shoots back as he blows a kiss to the Frenchman. "Fuck you." Jev says as he tosses a balled up napkin towards the Aussie. "See." Dan says mater of factly.

They finish off their dinner as Jev returns from the kitchen with bottles of chilled beer they also got. It was nice, even if it was only for one night, to feel like what normal people do around their age. He passes one bottle to Dan who thanks him as he sits back down on the grass. "What do you think mate?" Dan starts as Jev turns to look at him. "What'll we be doing in the future?" Dan asks as he smiles at Jev. "What do you mean by future?" Jev asks. "I dunno. Let's say 10 years from now." Dan says. "We'd be like 30 by then." He adds. Jev huffs a laugh before he takes a swig from his bottle. "Hopefully in Formula 1, a champion or about to be one." He says with a shrug. 

Dan chuckles before having a drink of his own beer. "Same, to be honest. What about your life?" Dan asks. "What about my life?" Jev asks with a tilt of his head. "I mean outside of racing? A wife, maybe kids by 30? I dunno." Dan says with a shrug. Jev laughs, deep and hearty, as he clutches his stomach. "Me? Married? I'd be too busy flying around the world to settle down and have kids." Jev says. Dan shrugs as he looks at his friend. "Some guys have done it and they're still racing." Dan says. "But they're like, old. Those are the ones who are ready to hang up their helmet and retire. I don't really see myself giving up racing as long as I can do it." Jev says. 

"Or maybe you're just saying that because you think no one will want to marry you." Dan teases with a laugh. Jev gives his friend a playful shove. "Aw Jev, I'm pretty sure someone will love you for the dork you are." Dan adds. "Who are you to call me a dork, Ricciardo?" Jev almost challenges. "Tell you what mate, if we're still single by then and you're too lonely then maybe I'll volunteer to marry you." Dan says as he tries to be serious but fails after 3 seconds and bursts out laughing. "I feel flattered." Jev says in his most unamused tone before he stands up. "Now help me clean up." He says as he tosses one of the empty boxes towards Dan.


	4. Author's Note

So I've decided to pick this up again.

I've always intended to finish this fic because when I started writing it I already knew more or less how it was going to end. But drama happened and maybe some of you knew about that, maybe some of you don't. I ended up getting discouraged from continuing to write this even if I wanted to.

But I'm back! And I wanna try my best to paint a bigger picture of this fic and at least try to get as close to ending it because I can't promise anything but to try my best.

So here's the thing with me picking this fic back up again, there's going to be a massive time jump in the next chapter. The last chapter was set in 2009 and the next one will jump to 2013. I made this decision because I didn't want this fic to drag on for so long since I just wrapped up a fic that took me a year and a bit to finish and I didn't want this to end up the same way. 

So I hope you all understand and stay tuned to me attempting to finish this fic. Thank you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~~I know you know who you are. I see what you're doing and just know you'll never get away with it as long as I'm around~~


	5. Chapter 5

_2013_

Dan almost couldn’t believe what he was seeing and hearing. **’We’re not friends.'** Typed out in bold letters in front of him. Underneath the headline was a photo of him and Jean-Eric for some promo they did.

He knew they’ve been having a hard time as teammates as of lately but he feels like them not being friends is a total lie. Jev would still stay with Dan in his tiny apartment near the Red Bull factory whenever it’s his turn to do sim work. They still share meals and even go out sometimes. Dan couldn’t stop the wave of hurt and a little bit of anger starting to hit him in that moment. How could he say that to everyone?

Dan doesn’t even think when he barges his way into Jev’s driver room next to his. It’s a thing they do every week when Dan’s excited about the weirdest things and his first thought was to tell Jev. “What the fuck is this?” He says as he throws down the news paper he was holding. “A news paper Daniel.” Jen says unbothered as ever. “No fucker, I meant what’s that shit printed on it?” Dan says, his voice starting to shake. “People asked about how we got on and it’s not like I can tell them we share the same bed some days and fight for the last slice of pizza all the time.” Jev says with a shrug. “So you told them we’re not friends?” Dan’s voice starting to rise. 

“Well you know it’s not true so I don’t know why you’re upset about it.” Jev says. “Because of exactly that! Because you lied to people about us!” Dan was shouting now. “Calm down Daniel. Believe it or not I did that for you.” Jev says as a confused look makes its way on Daniel’s face. “For me? Why on earth would you lie to people for me?” Dan asks.”Because I know you too well Dan and you’re the most obvious person I know.” Jev says. “I know we’re friends, you could even say we’re best friends, and that’s how I felt about you for so long.” He adds. “Then why would you tell people we’re not then?” Dan asks, almost pleading with his eyes to Jev to just tell him. 

“Because I know you and I know how you feel. How you feel about me.” Jev says as he watches Dan’s face go from confused to shocked. “At first I thought you just didn’t want to tell me because you’re embarrassed but then I realised you don’t even know how you feel.” Jev says. “Jev I know how I feel I just didn’t know you know.” Dan says looking away from the Frenchman. “I felt from feeling happy to feeling helpless to feeling miserable because I’m falling for my best friend who I know will never love me back.” Daniel says with shining eyes as he looks at Jean-Eric 

“I know Dan. I knew the whole time.” Jev says. “It took me a while because we were doing the same things we did since we were teenagers but then I noticed the way you looked at me changed and then I knew why.” He adds. “Is that why you told people we’re not friends? To not get my hopes up?” Daniel asks. “I guess in someways yeah.” Jev says. “But mostly because there’s another reason.” Jev says as he takes a shaky breath and looks at Dan. “You’re wrong about me never loving you back. Because I do Daniel but we can’t. You know we can’t.” He says as he sees a tear slip down Dan’s cheek. 

“It’ll never work. It’s going to tear us apart and I can’t handle that. I can’t have you the way I want to but I can’t handle losing you either.” Jev says as he tries to explain. “So you’d rather keep me at arms length instead?” Dan asks, his voice wobbling as more tears spill from his eyes. “Yes and I need you to understand that. I’m not doing this to hurt you but to protect you Daniel.” Jev says. Dan takes a breath to steady himself before he starts to speak. “The fucked up thing is that I get it. I get it Jev and thank you. I get it because I’d feel the same way if I did anything to push you away. It still sucks but it really does feel like we don’t have a choice.” Dan says. 

Jean-Eric takes a cautious step forward as he looks at Dan who nods before they wrap their arms around each other. “I love you Jev. I really do.” Dan says against the Frenchman’s shoulder. “I know Daniel. I love you too.” He says back and he feels the Aussie take a shaky breath. They pull apart as Dan wipes his tears away and tries to give Jev his signature grin. “Let’s get ready for practice, yeah?” He says, his voice still wobbling a bit. “Get ready to lose then Ricciardo.”


	6. Chapter 6

_Canada 2014_

Jean-Eric doesn't know how long he’s been awake or if he even got more than 15 minutes of sleep that entire night. Daniel was still asleep. No doubt from all the alcohol and their activities the night before wore him out. The Aussie was snoring softly beside him as Jev can’t help the small smile that formed on his lips.

Everything was a blur to him from the moment he saw two cars stuck in the barrier on the last lap of the race to him getting out of his Toro Rosso and seeing the final results of the race. Jean-Eric knew he was in the points but it wasn’t until he saw the name beside 1st place did his heart rate pick up and it screamed at him one name. Daniel. Daniel just won the race. Daniel was a Grand Prix winner. He was feeling a swirl of emotions that he couldn’t fully comprehend. The first time he saw Daniel was when he was in the media pen as they watched on one of the huge screens around Daniel lifting up the winner’s trophy with a painfully huge grin on his face. 

He didn’t expect he’d see Daniel that night knowing that the team would drag him out to celebrate his win. So when Jean-Eric was finishing packing up his things for his flight home he didn’t expect the knock on the door to be from the Aussie. “Daniel?” Jev looks totally puzzled to see Dan in his hotel room with a bottle of champagne. “Hey! I was waiting for you all night at the party.” Dan says. “I wasn’t in the partying mood so I’m sorry you waited for nothing.” Jev says. “Yeah I kind of had that feeling so I came up here to look for you. If you want me to fuck off I can go.” Dan says. “No, no. You can stay.” Jev says as he lets him into his room and locks the door behind him. 

“I don’t think I’ve said congratulations yet so congratulations Dan.” He says as he smiles at the Aussie. “Can I kiss you Jev?” Dan asks after he puts down that bottle of champagne he was holding. It wasn’t like some big deal. They’ve kissed and fucked and done other things after they confessed their feelings for each other. Even after Dan’s move to Red Bull, Jev assured him that he doesn’t hate him in any way. They never put a name or label to who they are to each other. The only thing they’re sure of is that Daniel loves Jean-Eric and Jean-Eric loves Daniel. “Of course you can kiss me.” Jev says before he steps closer towards Dan. “Why are you even asking if you can?” 

“Because I feel like I’m in some crazy dream and I’m so happy and if I kiss you I might wake up.” Dan says as he wraps his arms around the Frenchman’s waist. “That is so fucking cheesy even for you Ricciardo.” Jev says in between laughter as Dan pulls him closer. “I really am proud of you Dan.” He says as he looks Dan in the eyes. “Thanks. That means everything to me.” He says with a soft smile. “Now can I kiss you?” He asks sounding impatient. “Yes please.” Jev says before Dan classes the gap between them. Jev can almost feel Dan’s entire body sigh while they kiss. “Been wanting that since I crossed the line earlier.” Dan mumbles against his lips. “So kissing me is better than winning?” He teases. “You’re really making me pick?” Dan shoots back. “Mhmm.” 

“You. I’ll always pick you Jev. You’re better than any win, any trophy. I love you.” Daniel says as he looks at him. “Dan.” Jev says as his face softens. “Hey, you made me pick.” Dan says with a shrug. “Yeah but you say that like I’m important or something.” Jev says as he looks away from Dan. “Because you are? You’re the most important person to me next to my family.” The way that Dan says that so casually was almost enough to make Jean-Eric’s heart burst with how full it felt in that moment. He kisses Dan hard before he pulls back and takes his face into his hands. “I love you. I love you so much Daniel.” He watches as the grin spreads on Daniel’s face. “Should we have some of that champagne?” He asks but Jev shakes his head no. “Bed. Take me to bed. Please?” He didn’t care if he sounded like he was pleading but every fibre of his being screamed for Dan in that moment. “Of course.” Daniel nods before he sweeps him off his feet at takes him to bed.


End file.
